1992 Cadillac Seville Reviews from North America

1992 Cadillac Seville 4.9 liter

Summary:

This car should be looked at as a last resort

Faults:

When I first bought the car, I drove it for less than three minutes and the heater core exploded while I was driving. Had to put it in the shop: 81 dollars for the heater core plus tax, and 236 dollars for the labor.

Shortly after picking it up from the shop three days later, on a Monday, the inlet line from the transmission to the radiator cracked open; spraying all of the transmission fluid over the road. I had a hard time that week.

During the entire time I had the car, it ran hot every time I drove it, and I only drove it less than ten miles every day.

The radiator cracked on the car as I was driving one day.

The electrical wiring is not correctly assembled.

The cooling fan does not work any more.

The water pump comes on every three to four days.

The Cadillac Seville 1992 runs over 250 degrees so often, you would think that running hot was its full time job.

Oh, I checked to make sure that it wasn't the thermostat, and it is missing; as in not there.

The speaker system does not work, except for the rear dock speaker over the passenger side.

The trunk does not shut all the way.

The windshield spray does not spray.

Oh yes, it's a V-8. I will not buy another Cadillac; wouldn't care if it was the better looking car.

General Comments:

The car is overall a bad car. This is my experience. I wish it was different.

13th May 2012, 17:04

So you bought a 1992 4.9 Seville with 220K+ miles and are complaining? I do sympathize with anyone who hits an unexpected repair, but that car may have had five owners before you, who beat it or skipped routine maintenance.

The only real shortcoming of the 4.9 is the aluminum block and the odd coolant tabs it requires. Yes, you are supposed to change the coolant every 2-3 years, and drop some kind of weird tabs in with it to stabilize the alum block. If someone fails to do that for ten years, chances are the cooling system may develop a fault.

The 4.9 is actually the most reliable engine Cadillac used from 1979 onward, and the 92 is the only model year of the gen 4 Seville that used it. Subsequent models using the terrible Northstar.

My honest advice is if the overall car is not destroyed (as it probably is), seriously do the research on what the engine needs, and do the work to bring it back up to speed. The 4.9, like the similar Buick 3.8, will give you 300K+ miles of service if you take care of it.

14th May 2012, 12:47

Luxury cars tend to need a little more maintenance, and cost more for servicing.

American cars from the early 1990s were still not so great or durable. A 1992 American car with 220,000+ miles is a milestone, and the fact it's a more fragile luxury car makes it more so. The car is beyond its typical life expectancy. I very rarely see these with over 140,000.